A Bible Devotion

1 TIMOTHY 1:15 NLT
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it:
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -- and I am
the worst of them all.

Jesus came into the world to save sinners: not to leave us as
sinners, but to deliver us from being sinners. (The word save
means to deliver.)

MATTHEW 1:21 NLT
21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for
he will save his people from their sins."

Sin is our problem. Sin has been destroying us and we did not
even realize it. Jesus came to save us from our sins, not to
save us from God. God is not our problem -- sin is. God is our
answer.

JOHN 8:34,36 NLT
34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a
slave of sin.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

God's ways are good and benefit us. Rebelling against God and
choosing to sin (which is doing selfish acts that harm someone)
is always (eventually) harmful.

God's grace does not mean "just allowing us to do wrong without
any consequences." Grace is something freely given without
regard to whether we deserve it, but it should change us,
making us better than we were before.

God gives us the gift of righteousness and imparts His life
into us. God's life, when yielded to, gives us ability to walk
in light, life, and love. In other words, God's grace gives us
the ability and the desire to overcome sin and satan instead of
being imprisoned by them and forced to obey them.

The Old Covenant gave laws against sin, but did not change
people's hearts. With the New Covenant comes a new birth of the
inner person changing our desires. That enables us to be able
to walk free from sin's bondage, as we choose to live from our
heart.

Fortunately our Father is merciful and patient, so even when
you do sin, you are not rejected and thrown out. You can always
receive forgiveness and start over with a clean slate from God
(although natural consequences may still be there).

1 JOHN 1:9 NLT
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

God will never quit loving you. He loves you right now -- just
the way you are. But God loves you too much to leave you the
way you are. His plan is not to leave you in sin's bondage but
to make you free.

SAY THIS: Jesus is able to set me free from the bondage of sin.

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